Matt Varga 3D-printing isn’t just a passing fad in Beaverton. The Nike Air Max 1000 and further iterations like the 1000.2 and 1000.3 already speak to that enough, but the AirWorks program has only expanded that, an initiative that’s invited eight young designers to bring their own spin on the futuristic motif. Beijing’s Marc Su is the latest to reveal his final product, the Nike Air Max Link.
Presented by the designer as a “link from Beijing for community to our Future,” the Air Max Link may carry a similar overall body shape to the Air Max 1000, but Su brings a ton of disparate Swoosh eras into his take. Most notably, the midsoles curve towards the heel, with a stacked synthetic section that almost reminds of the heel support from an Air Max Plus IV. With cutouts just in front of the foot entrance, smooth anchoring running from the collar across the toe, and tiangular extensions, there’s also a real Alpha Project atmosphere flowing through this shoe. Two embedded Air units midway through the toe make good on the AirWorks promise.
As with the Motoi Hatsuki-designed, Tailwind-like AirWorks silhouette shown off about two months earlier, it’s expected that a. limited run of family & friends pairs of the Air Max Link will be produced leading up to Air Max Day 2027. Whether we can anticipate a public run is currently unclear.
